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The ester prodrugs of ketoprofen with various naturally available antioxidants; menthol, thymol, eugenol, guiacol, vanillin and sesamol have been synthesized by the dicyclohexyl carbodiimide (DCC) coupling method, purified and characterized by spectral data. Further, their, partition coefficients have been determined as well as, hydrolytic studies performed. The synthesized compounds are more lipophilic compared to the parent moieties and are stable in acidic environment, which is a prerequisite for their oral absorption. Under gastric as well as intestinal pH conditions these prodrugs showed variable susceptibility towards hydrolysis. The title compounds when evaluated for anti-inflammatory, analgesic activities and ulcerogenicity, showed improvement over the parent drug.

The fragment b(25-35) of the amyloid b-peptide, like its parent bA4, has shown neurotrophic and late neurotoxic activities in cultured cells. The 3D structure of this important peptide was examined by 1 H and 13 C 2D-NMR and MD simulations in DMSO-d 6 and water. The NMR parameters of chemical shift, 3 J.N, Ha/ coupling constants, temperature coefficients of NH chemical shifts and the pattern of intra and inter-residue NOEs were used to deduce the structures. In DMSO-d 6 , the peptide was found to take up a type I b-turn around the C-terminal residues Ile 8 -Gly 9 -Leu 10 -Met 11 , whereas in water at pH 5.5, it adopts a random coil conformation. This is only the second report of a b-turn in the b-amyloid class of peptides. The solution structures generated using restrained molecular dynamics were refined by MARDIGRAS to an R factor of 0.33 in the case of DMSO-d 6 and to 0.56 for water.

Cancer, the second leading cause of death worldwide, is a major health problem. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are current treatments for cancer. Most anticancer drugs have severe toxic effects and are required to be administered in cycles to reduce toxicity and prevent resistance. Plant-based drugs have shown a potential for treatment of cancer, and various plant secondary metabolites have shown promising antitumor activity against several cancer cell lines, such as leukemia, colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Vincristine, etoposide, topotecan and paclitaxel, which are of natural origin, are successfully used in clinical practice, and this has generated interest in natural compounds as anticancer agents. Some phytoconstituents like curcumin, piperine, allicin, quercetin and resveratrol have been extensively researched and reviewed. In the current study, we have reviewed several plants like Athyrium hohenackerianum, Aristolochia baetica, Boswellia serrata, Panax ginseng, Berberis vulgaris, Tanacetum parthenium, Glycine max, Combretum fragrans, Persea americana, Raphanus sativus, Camellia sinensis, and Nigella sativa for their source, key phytoconstituents, and anticancer activity along with their toxicity profile. Few phytoconstituents like boswellic acid, sulforaphane and ginsenoside showed excellent anticancer activity compared to standard drugs and are potential clinical candidates.

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